[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 62

Korea, GRS-owned building.

“Hey, how long are you going to keep doing this? You should go back to the home country soon.”

Coach Jang Seok-hwan felt his insides grow heavy.

The new season was only a few days away.

It would have been better if he had returned home a long time ago, but he had been in Korea for weeks now…….

“…Not yet. Not yet. I haven’t found Prisoner.”

GRS’s mid-laner, Li Zixuan, shook his head despite Coach Jang Seok-hwan’s urging.

Anyway, that stubbornness of that guy…….

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Coach Jang Seok-hwan had been suffering for weeks now from GRS's coach to the front office operations team, the public relations team, the nurturing team's various managers, as well as the team leader, and even the CEO.

「“Don’t you know how long it's been since you haven’t participated in team practice?! Bring him in quickly!”」

「“Oh, Coach Jang Seok-hwan? We were hoping that you and player Li Zixuan would return to the home country soon. We can’t get in touch with the player.”」

「“Coach Jang Seok-hwan, do you not have a calendar at your home, haha. It seems like it's about time to come back.”」

Due to the influence Li Zixuan had within the team, the team couldn’t directly order Li Zixuan to return.

In the end, only the unlucky Coach Jang Seok-hwan was stuck in the middle and had to be nagged.

It could be seen as the sorrow of a middle manager caught between the upper and lower echelons.

‘Damn it.’

I feel like I’m going to lose my hair from stress.

Not that it’s not true, I really think there’s been more hair in the drain these past few days.

Of course, it wasn't Coach Jang Seok-hwan's doing.

Even before the numerous calls from the team, Coach Jang Seok-hwan had tried hard to persuade Li Zixuan.

Finding Prisoner's whereabouts was also one of them.

He thought it would be easy, to just find and solve the reason why Li Zixuan was staying in Korea.

“Ugh.”

However, unfortunately, finding any trace of Prisoner was a long shot.

He contacted the teams that had previously held tryouts for Prisoner, but they also avoided his calls as if they were fed up with Prisoner because of people like Coach Jang Seok-hwan.

「“Prisoner? Stop looking for that guy for me. Do you know how many times I’ve gotten calls like that this month?”」

It was obvious why the teams that had been making excuses about Prisoner’s rumored rare disease were targeting Prisoner again.

Now, Prisoner had become that valuable.

The first solo rank 2000 point jungler.

If that were all, there would be many teams that wouldn't feel the need to take on the risk of Prisoner's rare disease. However, the problem was what Prisoner had shown.

‘Prisoner went to 2000 points in solo queue, not even duo. And he did it with an undefeated streak.’

35 consecutive wins in the top solo rank.

Even though it is rare to record that win rate in the lower tiers, it's not impossible.

In fact, there were pro players who, when boosting their secondary accounts, entered the Master tier with a win rate close to 100% through duo.

However, the place where Prisoner had recorded 35 consecutive wins was not Silver, nor Gold, nor even the Diamond or Master tier.

Challenger's top tier.

Prisoner proved himself there.

If Prisoner hadn't disappeared, how far would he have gone?

2100 points? 2200 points? Or even more?

No, maybe he had already reached the top.

The answer was unknown.

Because Prisoner had disappeared.

Given the situation, even Coach Jang Seok-hwan, who had not understood Li Zixuan until now, could now understand why Li Zixuan was so obsessed with Prisoner.

‘Ugh.’

Coach Jang Seok-hwan opened the community as one of his daily routines.

Perhaps, it was unlikely, but he was hoping there might be even a little bit of information about Prisoner.

-Prisoner will return. Prisoner will return. Prisoner will return. Prisoner will return. Prisoner will return.

-Why isn’t the gallery owner returning? Why isn’t the gallery owner returning? Why isn’t the gallery owner returning? Why isn’t the gallery owner returning? Why isn’t the gallery owner returning? Why isn’t the gallery owner returning?

-The gallery is really messed up. If it’s going to be like this, come back, Prisoner...

-Fools ㅋㅋ Why are you looking for Prisoner here? It's right in front of you.

-ㄴㅋㅋ Seriously, treating him like a star in the night sky.

‘As expected.’

Should I say as expected?

The community was a mess as usual.

After Prisoner achieved unbelievable feats and suddenly disappeared, the Legend of League community was virtually half-paralyzed.

Because all the topics were only about Prisoner or related stories.

Coach Jang Seok-hwan sighed deeply and said to Li Zixuan, who was almost in a state of ruin.

“I checked all the funeral homes in the country. There were a total of seven people named Lee Yu-jin who died in the last month, but none of them were Prisoner. You checked it too.”

“Then he didn’t die! Shouldn't we be looking at hospitals?”

“Hey, do you know how many hospitals there are in the whole country……!”

Coach Jang Seok-hwan, who was about to raise his voice, soon shook his head.

What good would it do for him, who should be leading Li Zixuan here, to raise his voice and fight?

“That’s enough, and didn't you check the hospitals anyway?”

“…You knew?”

The fact that Li Zixuan was looking for Prisoner, not hesitating to use both legal and illegal methods through his personal secretary, was a secret to Coach Jang Seok-hwan.

Because if this were to be known, it would surely have a great negative impact on Li Zixuan as well as the team.

However, Coach Jang Seok-hwan was not someone who could be concealed just by keeping it a secret.

“How could I not know?”

The reason Coach Jang Seok-hwan condoned it was because he knew all too well about Li Zixuan’s obsession with Prisoner.

More than just an obsession, it was a frenzy.

And that frenzy reached its peak when Prisoner disappeared after reaching 2,000 points.

“I understand why you’re so obsessed with Prisoner. You think that if you're with Prisoner, you can beat Rainbow at the next Red Cup, right?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“I understand. It’s natural for a pro to have that kind of competitive spirit. But it’s not going to happen anymore. I've made all the arrangements I can for the team, and for myself as well. So let’s go back.”

Li Zixuan, who had been staring blankly at the monitor, opened his mouth after a long time.

“…Okay, I’ll go back.”

“You thought it through.”

“Instead, please stay here, coach.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you three times your annual salary. Until then, stay in Korea and find clues about Prisoner.”

In short, it was saying to quit the coach thing and just act as a detective to find Prisoner.

“Ha.”

Coach Jang Seok-hwan felt something that had been supporting him until now was breaking.

“Hey.”

I can’t stand it anymore.

“Quit it.”

Li Zixuan's eyes widened in surprise, as if it was the first time he'd seen Coach Jang Seok-hwan like that.

“…Yes?”

“I’m the coach of GRS, not your personal secretary. Are you kidding me?”

Coach Jang Seok-hwan revealed his anger.

“Money, yeah, money is good. But this is not it. If that’s the case, I’ll just quit. Whether you go back to China or not, it’s none of my business? Do what you want. You're a grown-up.”

And then Coach Jang Seok-hwan immediately made a phone call.

“Ah, director? I can’t do it anymore. I’m quitting.”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

“You stay still.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’ll go back to my home country.”

Coach Jang Seok-hwan put down his phone slightly when Li Zixuan, who was usually aloof, pleaded.

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

Actually, Li Zixuan also knew.

How much he was being unreasonable right now.

Prisoner was dead.

He had been covering his eyes to avoid that truth until now, but now he had to accept it.

“…….”

Unless he were to quit his professional life altogether, it would be right to go back to his home country right now if he intended to continue.

No, he should have gone back a long time ago.

“When you get back, forget about practice and think about adjusting your lifestyle. You haven’t slept properly since you came here.”

“…Yes.”

Coach Jang Seok-hwan fiddled with his smartphone.

“I booked a flight. The time is… departing at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Get everything sorted out by then.”

“Yes.”

“Then rest today. And… do whatever you want today. Whether you're looking for Prisoner or whatever.”

“…Thank you.”

This was the best consideration Coach Jang Seok-hwan could do.

At least for today, he had to let Li Zixuan do whatever he wanted so that it would have less of an impact on the following season.

‘…I don't know if he will be able to return to the starting lineup right away.’

No matter how much influence Li Zixuan has within GRS, the selection of the starting lineup must be backed by skill.

But it's been a long time since Li Zixuan had participated in team practice.

‘He'll figure it out.’

Coach Jang Seok-hwan shook his head and left the room.

And…….

“…….”

Li Zixuan, left alone in the room, stared blankly for a long time and then turned on the Legend of League client.

It was the Korean server.

[Start Game]

Li Zixuan queued.

Knowing it was futile, but believing in that feeble, slender miracle.